Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Saleh Shariati, a prisoner in Adel Abad of Shiraz who was convicted of murder as a minor via “Qassameh,” one of Islamic Penal Code’s most tenuous methods of establishing guilt.

In the absence of sufficient evidence, a judge strongly persuaded of the defendant’s guilt can rule for conviction by Qassameh if enough of the victim’s male family members indict the defendant under oath. In Shariati’s case, 57 of the victim’s male family members — none of whom are legally required to have witnessed the crime — sealed his fate with their sworn testimonies.

Authorities reportedly extracted a confession from Shariati under the duress of torture. The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, a US-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting human rights in Iran, recently published audio of a man identified as Shariati speaking on tape. The man’s voice can be heard recalling five years’ worth of forcibly extracted confessions.

“Had I committed a crime, I wouldn’t have stayed at the same address […],” Shariati’s recording continued. “I would have fled… I’ve been in limbo for five years now. Every day they have a different reason. It’s become unbearable. I’m thinking of harming myself [while I still have the chance].”

Initially barred from seeing his detained son, Shariati’s father believed he had been tortured when, visiting him in prison for the first time, he caught sight of suspect wounds on his son’s body.

The alleged murder took place in 2012 when the body of Rasoul Bahramnian was found at the bottom of a well whose entrance was left unsecured. Shariati, then 16, was the last known person to see Bahramian alive and alleged that he had fallen into the well. Authorities zeroed in on him as a murder suspect sixteen months later.

Hossein Panahi stitched his lips together and went on hunger strike August 27, 2018, to protest his death sentence and the infringement on his basic rights by authorities. A source familiar with his situation told HRANA, “Rajai Shahr officials forcibly pulled the stitches from his lips and transferred him in handcuffs and shackles to solitary confinement in Ward 5, the known destination of prisoners whose execution is imminent.”

Hossein Panahi, who suffers from severe renal problems and other injuries, is unlikely to receive the medical attention he needs in his present state.

Hossein Panahi’s lawyers previously issued a statement announcing their client’s hunger strike and the motivations behind it, and asking judicial authorities to facilitate their client’s access to the legal rights of appeal and request for clemency.

Ramin Hossein Panahi was sentenced to death by Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj (Iranian Kurdistan) on a charge of “Acting against national security” on January 16, 2018. The sentence was upheld in mid-April by the Supreme Court before being forwarded to the Execution of Sentences Unit.

Hossein Panahi’s lawyer Hossein Ahmadiniaz reported in June that his request for a retrial had been denied.

Previously held in Sanandaj Prison (300 miles west of Tehran), Hossein Panahi was transferred to an unidentified location on August 13, 2018, before being transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison (30 miles west of Tehran) for reasons unknown.

HRANA News Agency – The death penalty of a prisoner was executed in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), on the morning of January 16th, a prisoner identified as Hushang Zare was hanged in the Adel Abad prison of Shiraz. (more…)

HRANA News Agency – 3 prisoners have been executed on charge of murder in Shiraz prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), in the morning of Tuesday 6th October, three prisoners, identified as Ali Baz Khosravi, Mostafa Khosravi, and Ali Baz Noorian were hanged in Adel Abad prison, in Shiraz, on charge of murder. (more…)

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), the execution sentence for Aziz Maktabi, on charge of “murder”, was implemented on Sunday, 4th October in the yard of Adel Abad prison, in Shiraz. (more…)

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), these seven prisoners who had been transferred from Pirniya prison to solitary confinements in Adelabad prison on Friday, have been executed on June 6th. (more…)

HRANA News Agency – Five prisoners were executed on charge of murder in the prison of Shiraz.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), in the morning of Tuesday 19th May, five prisoners were hanged on charges of murder in the courtyard of Adel Abad prison, in Shiraz. (more…)

HRANA News Agency – Death sentences of seven inmates were executed in Adel Abad prison, in Shiraz during last Sunday and Tuesday.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), on Sunday, 10th May, four people on charges of armed robbery and on Tuesday 12th May, 3 accused of murder, were hanged on the grounds of Evin Prison. (more…)

HRANA News Agency – Nine death row prisoners were hanged in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz on Wednesday April 22.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), among these nine prisoners, three were charged with murder and 6 others were charged with drug related crimes, three of whom were the citizens of Afghanistan. (more…)